The toughest part of any list of prospects isn’t necessarily choosing who should be among the top.

Those drivers have proven themselves with victories at the stepping stones closest to Sprint Cup.

That’s why Ryan Blaney and Ty Dillon top this list of Sprint Cup prospects. They have won at either the Nationwide or Truck level and have the support already of strong Cup organizations.

But with so many drivers at different levels of racing, it’s tough to rank them. But here’s an attempt, with a look at the top 10 and others. The ranking is based on performance and potential, with marketability and likelihood of getting a shot at Cup also a piece.

Drivers who have raced regularly full time in Cup or are Cup rookies (Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Parker Kligerman and Michael Annett) are not included.

1. Ryan Blaney

Blaney, who turns 20 on New Year’s Eve, already has one Nationwide win and two Camping World Truck Series victories.

Sixth overall in the truck standings driving for Brad Keselowski Racing last year, Blaney apparently was courted by Furniture Row Racing, but he remains a Penske Racing development driver.

Penske has kept hold of Blaney for one reason — to make sure he develops properly so it can make him a Cup star. Expect to see him full time in Cup as early as 2016 and 2018 at the latest.

2. Ty Dillon

Dillon, who turns 22 in February, obviously will get a shot at Cup as a grandson of team owner Richard Childress.

He won three races in trucks the last two years with finishes of fourth and second in the standings.

While still needing to be more consistent, he showed at Martinsville in October that he knows what it’s like to fight for position and he won’t be intimidated.

Dillon will win at least a race this year as a Nationwide Series rookie, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him in the mix at season’s end to follow in his brother Austin’s 2013 championship footsteps.

3. Chase Elliott

The 18-year-old Elliott had a little bit of a down year in 2012 but certainly showed better in 2013 with an ARCA win and a controversial road-course Camping World Truck Series win.

His seven top 10s in his nine truck races show real promise. Granted, his equipment was stout, but he shows that he is learning how to manage races well.

He hasn’t announced 2014 plans but with Hendrick Motorsports support, expect to see him in a car or truck with a team that has an alliance with that organization.

4. James Buescher

This will be the year that everyone will know if Buescher belongs on this list. The 2012 Camping World Truck Series champion heads to RAB Racing to compete in the Nationwide Series in 2014.

The 23-year-old Buescher was third in the trucks in 2013, unable in his goal for back-to-back titles but still was able to win twice.

The only blemish on Buescher’s resume was his short stint at Phoenix Racing at the start of the 2010 Nationwide season, the last time he truly raced for someone other than his father-in-law.

Now he’s away from a Steve Turner organization again, and it’s time to prove himself.

5. Erik Jones

If Kyle Busch puts a driver in his truck at somewhat his own expense, it’s got to be because that driver can race.

So Jones, who at 17 became the youngest winner in Camping World Truck Series history when he took the checkered flag at Phoenix in November, is certainly a driver to watch.

Busch hopes to have Jones — who has won back-to-back Snowball Derby races against some of the best Late Model drivers in the country — back in his truck for select races in 2014. The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is because of the uncertainty of just how much he’ll get to race in 2014.

6. Dylan Kwasniewski

The 18-year-old Kwasinewski has won back-to-back K&N titles — the 2012 West title and the 2013 East title.

He won six races in the East tour in 2013 driving for Turner Scott Motorsports.

Kwasinewski will move run in either Nationwide or trucks next year, but his schedule has not been announced. He already is used to the spotlight. AOL followed him around in 2013 for a video series on an up-and-coming racer.

7. Darrell Wallace Jr.

Wallace made history in October as the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race in nearly 50 years when he captured the victory at Martinsville.

The 20-year-old was eighth in the final truck standings and is expected to run in the series again in 2014 at Kyle Busch Motorsports with the back of Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing.

JGR also will try to get him some races in the Nationwide Series, where he averaged a 9.5 finish in four races in 2012.

8. Corey LaJoie

The 22-year-old LaJoie won in three of his five ARCA starts in 2013 and is expected to run at least a partial Nationwide schedule as a Richard Petty Motorsports driver in 2014.

The son of former Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie, Corey has been considered a driver who has gotten the most out of his equipment.

With this year being his first true NASCAR national series opportunity, he will need to continue to show that if he wants to make it big.

9. Jeb Burton

The 21-year-old Burton won a race to go along with seven poles on his way to a fifth-place finish in the Camping World Truck Series final standings.

Obviously, Burton (son of Ward, nephew of Jeff) knows how to go fast. He needs to be able to manage races better, and he improved on that during the 2013 season.

Burton is expected to run another truck season in 2014 for Turner Scott Motorsports.

10. Chris Buescher

The 21-year-old Buescher, cousin of James, won the 2012 ARCA title but only had limited starts in ARCA and Nationwide in 2013. He had two top 10s in seven Nationwide starts.

He’ll get his shot in 2014. A 10-time ARCA winner in 50 races over the last four years, Buescher gets a full-time shot at Nationwide in 2014 with Roush Fenway Racing.

The Next 10

11. Drew Herring — Herring, 26, is well respected in the garage area, as shown by Joe Gibbs Racing having him qualify cars and even fill in for Brian Vickers for the race at Phoenix.

12. Kyle Benjamin — Having just turned 16, Benjamin started and finished third in his East debut at Dover in a year that included two ARCA wins and six top 10s in eight starts.

13. Trevor Bayne — Bayne will turn 23 in February and the big question is, has he already hit the ceiling of his NASCAR career? Sixth in Nationwide just won’t cut it.

14. Ryan Truex — The 21-year-old Truex has talent (he won the 2009 and 2010 East titles) but raced so little (four times) in 2013 because of lack of sponsorship, that it is hard to say where he stands. Richard Petty Motorsports, though, has him under contract and if sponsorship can be found, he could make noise in 2014.

15. Johanna Long — At one point, I didn’t have the 21-year-old Long on this list because she averaged a 23rd-place finish in her part-time Nationwide schedule in 2013, the same average as 2012. But everyone I talk to swears she has the talent if given the opportunity.

16. Kevin Swindell — Swindell turns 25 in February and has yet to get a full-time NASCAR national series opportunity. But his two top 10s in a part-time Nationwide car were so impressive, hard to keep him off the list.

17. Alex Bowman — The 19-year-old Bowman was 11th in the Nationwide standings in 2013 driving for RAB Racing. He showed promise with two poles, two top-fives and six top-10 finishes and might actually run a full Cup schedule in 2014 for BK Racing.

18. Gray Gaulding — Gaulding turns 16 in February and there is a variety of opinions out there on him, as he has had a big promotional push behind him the last couple of seasons. But finishing in the top 10 in eight of 14 K&N East races as a rookie and winning, albeit controversial, the West race at Phoenix gets him on this list.

19. German Quiroga — The 33-year-old Quiroga has significant money behind him, but he's on this list because he appeared to make significant improvement during his rookie season last year in trucks. A longshot but possibly a Paul Menard-like driver who has some backing and will grow into a respectable Cup driver.

20. Ryan Reed — The 20-year-old, slowed because of diabetes the last couple of years, has a full-time Nationwide ride in 2014 as he brings sponsorship to Roush Fenway but also has shown some potential.